The Billy-Bo is a modern version of the Jupiter Thunderbird designed in 1959 by Bo Diddley himself. Billy F. Gibbons fell in love with an original given to him by Bo Diddley, but added some of his own mojo to this new version that he created as his touring axe. The Billy-Bo features a heavily chambered mahogany body, one-piece mahogany neck, ultra-thin laminate maple top, TV Jones Power'Tron (neck) and Power'Tron "Plus" (bridge) pickups, pinned Adjusto-matic bridge, and Schaller Straplocks. It's a dirty, low-down rock guitar with serious credentials and a vibe that hasn't lessened in nearly 50 years. Includes case.

FEATURES

Bo Diddley designed in '59

Modified by Billy F Gibbons

Heavily chambered mahogany body

One-piece mahogany neck

Ultra-thin laminate maple top

TV Jones Power'Tron (neck) and Power'Tron "Plus" (bridge) pickups

Pinned Adjusto-matic bridge

Schaller Straplocks

Includes case

A great mix of retro and modern, the Billy-Bo is a rock legend of the past and present. Order your now.

I have a lot of guitars - don't know how many because I do not feel like counting them. These include, but are not limited to: '64 Strat, early Strat Plus, USA Telecaster, Rickenbacker 360/6, Gibson Les Paul (1985), Dillion 1500T (surprisingly, a rather nice instrument), Dean Dimebag "Shards of Bone" Razorback (I do not play Metal but could not resist it), B.C. Rich Warlock (see prior entry), Ovation and Tacoma acoustic/electric, acoustic Sterling 12 string from the 70s, a few bass guitars, Brass Resonator, Laptop steel, PRS SE, 1963 Gretsch T100D, Gretsch Wild West, G&L Legacy, Epiphone SG, etc. Add to that the "exotic"guitars i.e.:a few mandolins, a great Recording King Old Time Banjo, Baritone Ukelele - I'm sure you've got the general gist. I try to collect instruments that have a unique sound or genre. For this reason, I could not pass up on the Billy-Bo Jupiter Thunderbird. as itt looks and sounds like nothing else in the collection!

It caught my eye when I was in Regent Sounds trying out a bunch of Teles - I'd read the review in Guitarist. Despite the shape I found it very comfortable to play, without the headstock diving floorwards like a Firebird. Nice action, great tone, but overpriced (2000 pounds at the time). My main axe is a Les Paul, & I'm after a Strat for the tonal range it covers. This would have a place on my rack if I had the cash to spare, without a doubt, but I see it as a bit of a niche luxury (at this price) like an EDS-1275.

I just played this guitar today at a local music store and I was floored. I plugged it into an Orange Rocker 30 half stack and was able to get some great, raucous tones. This guitar was so easy to play I could shred on it! Anyone who can get this guitar who's thinking about it, just get it. You won't be disappointed

Great quality. Playability is also top notch. The sustain and nuance from this guitar is great. Here's the surprise. This guitar tends to want to sound cleaner than you'd expect. It's not a pure dedicated rocker like a Les Paul might be for example. The treble pickup is bright and loud, and will distort and grind pretty well, but the neck pickup is dark and lacks definiton on the notes. The 'both pickups' switch position is great. Once you realize what sounds this guitar excels at, it's a great instrument. Can cover rock, clean, jazz and more very well. But it's not a great blues guitar, and there are better rockers out there too. I use it mostly to get the old Phil Keaggy sound from Glass Harp in the 70's, which is a driven but clean and rick sound.

Like most "artist" models, the Billy Bo is an average guitar with an astronomical price tag. I'm a big BFG fan and the look is very cool, but its simply not worth that much money. And Billy has enough hot rods already without me buying him another.